Method for playing, scoring and judging individual players in a soccer related game

ABSTRACT

The invention herein relates to a method for playing, scoring and judging skill level of a player of a soccer related game involving modules of rebound type walls, each module comprising two or more opposing rebound type walls of preferred distance and size parameters. The purpose of this invention is to provide a basic method of interacting within rebound type wall modules to improve individual soccer ball skills This method helps to facilitate, optimize and guide individual soccer training within said modules with the goal of attaining fundamental as well as personalized soccer ball skills The method is further intended to lead to improvement of said skills over a period of time in relation to the amount of interaction the player would have with the ball and said wall modules.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This nonprovisional patent application incorporates by reference fullyand obtains the earlier filing date of the pending provisional patentapplication, U.S. Patent No. 61840659, filed Jun. 28, 2014. Thisapplication is filed in a timely manner given that the provisionalpatent expiration date falls on Saturday, which is a weekend day.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING APPENDIX

Not applicable.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark office,patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

The invention herein pertains to a method for playing, scoring andjudging skill level in a soccer related game, specifically a soccerrelated game involving a player's bodily coordination of a ball betweentwo or more rebound type walls.

2. Background of Invention

Mastering the game of soccer requires the mastery of one's own body andeye coordination. It is a contact sport where a player's entire bodymust be intuitively responsive to the ball on the field at anyparticular time or location. The player's muscles must react reflexivelyto the field and all tremendous amounts of time conditioning theirbodies to achieve a level of muscle memory and intuition that makestheir movement on the field second nature and fluid. While actualpractice is the only way a player can improve his or her skill, thequality and amount of practice determines the rate of actualimprovement. In order for any individual to propel themselves to thenext level of skill in the game of soccer, they must dedicate sufficienttime on the field and off the field to constant muscle training. Soccerbeing a high contact sport requires equipment and training techniquesthat simulate a multi-player environment that provides constant dynamiccontact.

A soccer related game for purposes of honing professional level soccerskills has been provided by this inventor within the prior art. However,what remains to be defined is a method for playing, scoring and judgingindividual players in this type of soccer related game environment. Themethod must further encourage fundamental techniques and professionalstyle skills. Such a method would ideally improve the game of soccer byhoning and improving the skill set of the players. It would also providea new soccer related game that could be adapted for purposes ofrecruitment, training or pure entertainment. Said method may beadaptable also to real life physical play, imaginary play or virtualdigital play. The goal of such a method would ultimately serve thepurpose of standardizing a way to judge and train players from groundlevel to professional level. No such method currently exists in thefield of art. A need remains in the art for more efficient and effectivetraining in an independent manner that allows a player to gauge his orher own personal progress relative to players around the world accordingto fundamental preferences for the live game.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention herein relates to a method for playing, scoring andjudging skill level of a player of a soccer related game involvingmodules of rebound type walls, each module comprising two or moreopposing rebound type walls of preferred distance and size parameters.The purpose of this invention is to provide a basic method ofinteracting within rebound type wall modules to improve individualsoccer ball skills This method helps to facilitate, optimize and guideindividual soccer training within said modules with the goal ofattaining fundamental as well as personalized soccer ball skills Themethod is further intended to lead to improvement of said skills over aperiod of time in relation to the amount of interaction the player wouldhave with the ball and said wall modules. Ultimately, throughrepetitious training within said modules and with difficulty levelprogressing as the module set up becomes more complex, the playerprogresses towards professional skill levels in a creative andpersonalized way. This method is further intended to be applied withminimal technical or digital equipment but the nature of the describedgame and calculation may be applied or achieved with any variety ofcurrent known technology. This method may further be offered in avirtual manner for purposes of training soccer coaches, illustratingstrategy or for entertainment purposes in the form of a digital basedgame.

The method herein is for playing and scoring in a soccer related gameand a method for comparatively judging skill level of a player orbetween players who applies said playing and scoring method. The methodof playing soccer related game involving two or more opposing reboundtype wall module. The core goal of the game is to achieve as many hitsor strikes of the ball against one or more walls within the shortestamount of time. The player is expected to strike the ball against thewall at high speed, capture the ball with the player's body (ideally thefoot) on its return and to strike the same wall or another wallimmediately again. The player is further expected to strike the ballagainst each wall in a given prescribed sequence to illustrate andpractice control over the ball during turns. The overarching goal ofachieving the greatest amount of strikes against a wall in the shortestamount of time remains all the while as the player works on his or herturns. Should the player miss the ball or else kick the ball towards anonretrievable area, the player may either be deducted in points or elsethe game zeros out or ends. A nonretrievable area of the module would besomewhere outside a prescribed perimeter within or without said multiplewall module. It may also be somewhere beyond a prescribed distance froma particular wall within any given wall module. Scoring in this basicgame would be based on the number of strikes and the amount of time ittakes to achieve said strike. The amount of time it takes to achieve astrike may further be measured by the amount of time it takes to strikea wall from an initial kick, the amount of time it takes to make astrike from the moment the clock starts to run, or as an average ofmultiple strikes achieved within an allotted amount of time. Thisreflects a quantitative method of judging and scoring a player ormultiple players.

A qualitative method may also be applied to judge and score a player onhis or her quality, style and creativity in skills The qualities thatare observed and marked may include but is not limited to the followingfundamental categories of techniques: 1) variation of technical andstylistic moves incorporated in the striking of a wall; 2) quality ofsaid moves; 3) the ability to bring the ball to the ground quickly if itpops in the air; 4) length of time to strike a wall; 5) the ability tomake consecutive strikes without missing the wall; 6) the ability tokeep the ball within the retrievable area; 7) using various parts ofboth of the player's feet; 8) using all other parts of the player's bodysetting aside the hands although the arms may be used to maintaincontrol.

The player is expected to exemplify as many qualitative techniques aspossible within a given game. This is achieved by the user's psychocybernetic projections during a solo game as he or she strikes anddeflects a ball against a wall. It is further achieved by varying themanner of strikes against a wall or combinations of walls, assuming thatnot one manner of deflection is ever the same. Variety is furtherinstilled by the complexity of the module set up.

The manner of judging or scoring a player's qualitative skill in such agame would preferably be by a point system. The scoring method for bothquantitative and qualitative categories should preferably bestandardized for any type of modular wall system, any individual playeror any numbers of players such that a fair and equalized manner ofassessment may be achieved.

Other features, advantages, and object of the present invention willbecome more apparent and be more readily understood from the followingdetailed description, which should be read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 A top plan view of a preferred embodiment of a modular course ofthe claimed method.

FIG. 2 A first top perspective of a preferred embodiment of a modularcourse of the claimed method.

FIG. 3 A second top perspective view of a preferred embodiment of amodular course of the claimed method.

FIG. 4 A top plan view of a first rear portion of a preferred embodimentof a modular course of the claimed method.

FIG. 5 A top perspective view of a first rear portion of a preferredembodiment of a modular course of the claimed method.

FIG. 6 A top plan view of a second rear portion of a preferredembodiment of a modular course of the claimed method.

FIG. 7 A top perspective view of a second rear portion of a preferredembodiment of a modular course of the claimed method.

FIG. 8 A top plan view of a third rear portion of a preferred embodimentof a modular course of the claimed method.

FIG. 9 A top perspective view of a third rear portion of a preferredembodiment of a modular course of the claimed method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An example of a preferred embodiment for the invented method of playingand scoring in a soccer related game may include but is not limited tothe following. The preferred embodiment of the wall modules comprisingtwo or more walls opposing each other to create a natural enclosurewherein a player would be centrally positioned within and between allsaid walls. The walls would be comprised of two different sizes. A firstsmaller size (herein referred to as the “passing wall”) that mimics thesize or silhouette of a standard player from a close distance. A secondlarger size (herein referred to as the “shooting wall”) that mimics thesize and silhouette of a soccer goal from a close distance. A wallmodule may comprise of completely passing walls only or at least onepassing wall together with one shooting wall.

The player begins the game by entering through a gate into a particularmodule. The clock starts to run upon the player's entry into saidmodule. The player wins a point for every hit on a wall. The player maybe required to play a certain number of sets, each set may be defined bya certain number of hits per wall. For example, one set may comprise often hits on each wall within a given module according to a specifiedsequence. The player may gain two points for hits on a passing wallwithin a square module comprising three passing walls and one shootingwall. The player may gain greater points (i.e. 3 points) or hits on ashooting wall. The player should preferably shoot no closer than fouryards from a shooting wall or else be deducted two points. In each setwithin a four wall module, the player must hit two passing walls beforehitting a shooting wall. Points would be deducted or kicking the ballover a barrier or nonretrievable area.

In larger more complex modular courses (multiple modules coordinatedtogether to achieve a training effect defined as a course) the clockwould pause when the player travels between course modules. The rulesfor scoring within any given module would remain the same. As providedabove, 3 points for each hit to a passing wall and four points for eachhit to a shooting wall. Note, the player must start dribbling the ballupon entry at the shooting wall and hit any wall thereafter in order toscore points.

Additional walls may be positioned within a given module at an angle toprovide complexity. In a larger module containing eight passing wallsand two shooting walls wherein a full game and full soccer stadium ismimicked in a condensed space, a player may be required to run tenrepetitions around said module. In this case, the player may be requiredto hit two passing walls before shooting at a shooting wall. Four pointswould be awarded or each hit to a passing wall. Five points for each hitto a shooting wall. Six points for a hit on an angled passing wall if anangled wall is provided within said module. Points would be furtherdeducted or balls that are kicked beyond a retrievable area. Two pointswould further be awarded for balls that come off a shooting wall. Inthis case, the balls may be collected and the game may continue.

This method for playing this soccer related game may be accomplished bylive players in a live competition or training session. It may also beincorporated into other game environments such as table games, boardgames or captured in a virtual digital setting for virtual strategizingpurposes or for computerized game competitions. Accessories may becreated to facilitate the method described above. Such accessories mayinclude but not be limited to digital scoring device that remotelycapture the time of a strike, the number of strikes, the location ofstrikes, the type of movement made by a player, etc. Such a device maybe mountable on the described walls or may be embedded within other gameequipment such as soccer balls. The device may also be portable withminimum weight to be worn by a player during an ongoing game.

All patents and applications referred herein are incorporated byreference in their entirety. Furthermore, where a definition or use of aterm in a reference, which is incorporated by reference herein, isinconsistent or contrary to the definition of that term provided herein,the definition of that term provided herein applies and the definitionof that term in the reference does not apply.

Having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention,other equivalent or alternative methods will be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. The invention has been described by way of summary,detailed description and illustration. The specific embodimentsdisclosed in the above drawings are not intended to be limiting.Implementations of the present invention with various differentconfigurations are contemplated as within the scope of the presentinvention. The invention is thus to cover all modifications,equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of thefollowing claims.

I claim a method of scoring as follows:
 1. A modular space defined bytwo or more deflection walls wherein each wall within said module havinga front deflection side, each said wall within a module facing eachother from said front deflection side, said module being used to deflectone or more balls from said walls within said module by one or moreindividual users, one or more individual users positioned within saidmodule between the front sides of each said walls wherein each userwould receive a quantifiable rating for the total number of successfulfirst deflections of balls aimed by the user's body or equipment andsuccessfully deflected against said walls within said module within agiven amount of time, said first deflection being defined as the firstdeflection against a given wall in said module subsequent to a firstdeflection from a different wall within said module, said firstdeflection not defined to include consecutive deflections from anysingle wall of a given module.